The International University of Valencia has officially joined the EU INTEGER Col.laboratory on Health and Wellbeing, an initiative promoted by the Horizon Europe project: INTEGER-Interconnecting 4 Helix Innovation Ecosystems in European Regions, which brings together numerous institutions and organisations at European level, around the shared vision of joining forces in regional and inter-regional ecosystems to scale at European and international level with the aim of achieving positive change in the field of health and wellbeing.
The public signing of the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the European Col·laboratory took place during the annual EnOLL (European Network of Living Labs) conference, which brought together a diverse set of organisations. These included the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya, the Division of International Affairs and Innovation of the Ministry of Labour, Health, Social Affairs, Family and Integration of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the Kraków Technology Park, the i2Cat Foundation, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, the European University of Technology and Innovation and the European University of Catalonia, the i2Cat Foundation, the Universitat Rovira i Virgili URV, the European School of Social Innovation (ESSI), SIRENE – Social Innovation Responsive Environments NETwork and ACTION COST NET4Age-Friendly – International Interdisciplinary Network on Health and Wellbeing in an Age-Friendly Digital World, among others.
Dr. Antonia Caro González, director of the International Research Projects Office (IRPO) at VIU, explains that “The European Health and Wellbeing Col·laboratory is a neologism that expresses the combination of collaboration with living lab, to express the new generation of quadruple or n-helix living labs that we are developing”. The Col·laboratory is focused on promoting healthy living and greater social well-being and its actions are driven by challenges detected in a context or in a specific community or region. To this end, says Dr. Caro Gonzalez “The INTEGER project seeks to bring three important innovations for the development of stronger, sustainable, inclusive and integrative European innovation ecosystems” these are: “The INTEGER 4 Helix Col·laboratory model with which to launch and promote the next generation of ‘living labs’, the ‘Col·laboratories’, a European-wide Healthy Living Col·laboratory, which is gradually becoming a real network of networks with the capacity to work on social, technological and business projects in real environments, and a new professional profile, the ‘col·laber’ or ‘col·laboratory manager’ as a multiplier agent of change of these integrated innovation ecosystems.”
Specifically, these initiatives seek to answer questions related to how to overcome the existing gap between social innovations and those driven by the business world, how to include social innovation more decisively in funding mechanisms or how to promote a more sustainable and functional 4-helix dynamic with better governance.
VIU’s adherence to this initiative is a further demonstration of the University’s commitment to innovation, positive social and environmental impacts, and the promotion of improved health and living conditions for citizens. More specifically, through dynamics of this nature, VIU reinforces its role as a bridge and creator of circular processes involving students, faculty and local and international agents, in order to generate not only knowledge, but also a lasting positive social impact in the field of health, creating synergies that will continue to develop in the Qn Alliance.
As Dr. Caro González explains, “To establish circular processes of research-training-action-positive social impact, our university is committed to involving all key actors. Students play a vital role in learning, researching and applying their knowledge in the community. Faculty members, with their expertise, guide students and collaborate on research projects. Local and global actors bring diverse perspectives and additional resources.“
Throughout these months, 3 regional Col·laborathons have been held by the Col·lab. These activities are similar to a hackathon, but in the context of the quadruple helix co-creation that is promoted through the col·laboratories. These have involved collaborative work around specific challenges (e.g., nutrition and healthy living or initiatives that promote social inclusion). These have been carried out in the regions of Catalonia (September 21 and November 22), Krakow (November 29 and December 1-2) and Hamburg (October). Their ultimate goal has been to identify and select minimally viable social innovations, products or services in the field of health and wellbeing that need to secure funding for their implementation, subsequent development or scaling up.
Those interested in participating in this project can do so through the INTEGER Platform website. There you will find a space organised by channels and projects where you can connect with other members of the community, participate in groups of joint initiatives, and discover products and services, news and events. Participants will be able to publish relevant information, such as initiatives, events, projects or products that raise awareness of VIU’s work; participate in events and working groups; or access training pills, small units of content that provide valuable information in a brief and easy-to-understand form linked to topics of interest
qn-alliance.eu 